Burglar who was 'hearing voices' spared jail after targeting 100-year-old’s Leeds home

Simon Grey was spotted by a neighbour who heard glass smashing at the adjacent property in the affluent area of Shaftesbury Avenue in Roundhay on August 8 last year.

The man looked out of the window to see Grey’s legs as he climbed through into the property. The neighbour then went downstairs to get a better look and called the police. He then went outside with his wife and shouted at Grey, whom they could see inside the property, to get out.

Grey then exited the property through the broken window in which he entered. He remained there until the police arrived. When officers searched him they found he had taken two sets of keys taken from the property. He had also injured his hand on the broken glass of the window.

He gave no comments during his interview, prosecutor Joe Culley told Leeds Crown Court.

Grey, age 21, of Old Park Road in Gledhow, admitted a charge of burglary. He has one previous conviction for an assault.

Mitigating, Helena Spector told the court: “I asked him why he committed this offence and he told me, quite frankly, that he was not feeling well mentally that day. He was listening to the voices in his head which told him to go into the house and hurt himself.”

The court heard that Grey had been sectioned previously, had been prescribed ant-psychotic medication and that his behaviour was often “volatile and unpredictable”.

The judge, Recorder Alex Menary, said that given his clear mental health issues he would not lock him up, despite burglary usually attracting a lengthy sentence.

He told him: “This was a very serious offence. This was a lady of advanced years who should be able to feel safe in her own home. The impact on anyone who is a victim of burglary is that it unsettles them.”

He gave him a community order for 12 months and told he must complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.